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Hi Monica,My first CD was labeled New Age by the record company, but they went out of business. I bought back the recording (Bass Lion Music is my company), and now I do my own categorizing. The days of bins seem to be a thing of the past, so at least that frustration is gone, but on-line companies (both for physical and digital direct sales) still like to categorize, which, let's face it, is only human.

I tend to cross-categorize myself. But for last year's GRAMMY nominations (I was on the long list, in the first round) we ended up in Best New Age Recording category. It seemed the only acceptable place for the listing.

I was an invited to appear on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (NPR) a couple of years ago when my book was published. I'm not a jazz musician, so before recording Marian's show, I felt a little—shall we say—INSECURE. My husband, who is indeed a jazzer, says that my music is jazz-influenced, which I suppose is true. But it's classically influenced, as well.

Marian summed it up best, I think, when she said, "Oh, it's all just music, isn't it?" Well, right Marian. I've been around enough jazz and classical purists (some might call them snobs) in my life to really appreciate an accomplished musician who has big ears for everything. To find this quality in a woman Marian's age is remarkable. No wonder she seems so young.

Here's how the show with Marian came about. My publisher sent her a copy of my book.I sent her a couple of CDs. Marian called me personally and invited me to be on the show, a telephone call that darn near resulted in me falling down in a dead faint. "Marian," i said, "I'm not a jazz musician. Not even close." "Who cares?" she said."We'll play, we'll have fun!"

Musicians have been battling categories forever. We all just need to find a way to get our music out there. If that means sticking a label on ourselves, so be it. The important thing is to play what we love.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

Originally posted by Piano Girl RMG: Musicians have been battling categories forever. We all just need to find a way to get our music out there. If that means sticking a label on ourselves, so be it. The important thing is to play what we love. [/b]

This is very true. This is extremely off-topic, but my guess is that the internet is a mixed blessing for musicians. It makes it easier to get your music "out there," but there's SO MUCH "out there" it's hard to stand out...

I've spent a delightful morning listening to your 3 albums on Rhapsody, btw. Very beautiful! (And, yeah, I'd call it new age myself. ) I especially liked "Winter Sea," "Feed the Birds," and your arrangement of "Cavatina" from the Deer Hunter. I had never heard that piece as a piano solo before, but it works quite well that way.

Laurie Z. was a contemporary pianist, keyboardist, composer who passed away in 2006. Laurie's music has the sophistication and the grace of classical piano music, yet her structures and harmonies follow the verse-chorus structures of Elton John's music.

Well, I've just finished reviewing German composer Bernard Koch's new album dedicated to the great Hermann Hesse. I've set up an interview with him, which should be online in a week or so.Bernward's album is solo-piano and is very beautiful. I think many of you might like it.

I've also reviewed two Elijah Bossenbroek albums. Those of you that like your "New Age" music with a bit of flair, would do well to check out his albums- in particular the track "A Song of Simplicity".

That probably was Laurie you saw. She performed at Borders throughout the U.S. as well as a few Barnes and Noble stores. And while she was endorsed by Yamaha, many of those performances, particularly her improvs created in concert, were recorded live to Disklavier. We're currently mastering an Improv Night recorded live at Point 705 in L.A. in 1999. (Laurie never got the chance to go back into the studio and re-record the improvs to a compilation disk as planned.)

I have to agree that the term, "New Age" gives an impression of incense, wind chimes and electronic bilge. I prefer the term "contemporary instrumental," but you'd still find recordings of contemporary instrumental in the "New Age" bins at the big box stores and online. Whatever.

I still like George Winston, David Lanz, Wayne Gratz and Mia Jang, but one of my favorite pianists of this genre is Michael Gettel. Lovely!

Well, I certainly like San Juan Suite. Nearly got to meet Michael Gettel when he was coming over to England. Still hope to interview him one day. I have interviewed Wayne Gratz, and am just doing one with Bernward Koch and David Hicken.

If push came to shove, I think my favourite New Age pianist would be Michael Jones. Not to everyone's tastes I know, but I find his meandering compositions allows the listen to really lose themselves in his music.

I like Michael Jones too. Especially "Pianoscapes." No need to apologize or feel ashamed about liking this music. In fact, one of my pet peeves is that George Winston, the "king" of New Age piano doesn't do more to promote the style.

Of course, Winston doesn't refer to his style as new age. He calls it rural folk piano ... which I guess makes sense if you think about it.

It's just a term that's out of fashion at the moment and conjures up images of bells and chimes- basically pretty meaningless music. Those "in the know" do not let a name label bother them too much!

I have just posted an Interview with German pianist Bernward Koch, if anyone is interested. He recently released a fascinating new solo-piano album entitled "Montagnola" which he dedicated to the German novelist Hermann Hesse.

I notice that this thread has been running for quite some time now and has attracted a lot of interest.I would however, be most grateful if someone could define the term "new age pianist" for me please. From the examples I've seen on YouTube it would seem to be either an all-encompassing term or it can mean what you want it to mean.Enlightenment please!!!

Hi David -Corciolli would be a good example of a "new age pianist." However, I think you nailed it when you define new age pianist as "all-encompassing." It seems to be one of the catch all terms for lack of being able to classifiy an artist's music in a specific genre - which is so important for broadcast purposes. Laurie Z., was often referred to as a "New Age" composer/performer because she employed the use of synthesizers, blending it with accoustic sounds. Yet Laurie Z. referred to her music as "Contemporary Instrumental." (Yes, she was a "trail blazer" in MIDI but she was also classically trained from the age of four.) Personally, I think a lot of what we hear classified as New Age falls within the Contemporary Instrumental "genre" now. (i.e. JanElaine Eller for instance.)

Originally posted by David Staff:I would however, be most grateful if someone could define the term "new age pianist" for me please.[/b]

Hi David,

This question has come up repeatedly on this and the AB forum and pianist corner, and I don't think anybody has ever come up with a satisfactory answer. Looking up "new age music" on Wikipedia produced this definition, which is as good as any:

"New Age music is defined more by the feeling it produces rather than the devices used in its creation; it may be electronic or acoustic, or a mixture of both. New Age artists range from solo or ensemble performances using Western instruments such as piano, acoustic guitar, flutes, harps and many others, to electronic musical instruments, and Eastern instruments such as sitar, tamboura, tabla; and instruments from all other parts of the world, the human voice singing in languages from all around the world.

Some New Age music artists openly embrace New Age beliefs, while other artists and bands have specifically stated that they do not consider their own music to be New Age, even when their work has been labeled as such by record labels, music retailers, or radio broadcasters.

There is a significant overlap of sectors of New Age music, Ambient music, electronica, World music, Chillout, spacemusic and others. The two definitions typically used for New Age are:

* New age music with an ambient sound that has the explicit purpose of aiding meditation and relaxation, or aiding and enabling various alternative spiritual practices, such as meditative healing, chakra auditing, and so on. The proponents of this definition are almost always musicians who create their music expressly for these purposes.[2] Prominent artists who create New Age music expressly for healing or meditation include Aeoliah, Deuter, Deepak Chopra, and Steven Halpern.

* Music which is found in the New Age section of the record store.[2] This is largely a definition of practicality, given the breadth of music that is classified as "new age" by retailers who are often less interested in finely-grained distinctions between musical styles than are fans of those styles. Music which falls into this definition is usually music which cannot be easily classified into other, more common definitions, but often includes well-defined music such as Worldbeat and Flamenco guitar. Musicians as varied as George Winston, Dean Evenson, Will Ackerman, Suzanne Ciani, Jim Brickman, Enya, B-Tribe, Deep Forest, Jean Michel Jarre, Enigma, Kitaro, Yanni, Oscar Lopez, Mike Oldfield and Steve Roach are typically classified as New Age despite their wildly divergent musical styles. It also includes expressly spiritual New Age music as a subset."

I get a big kick out of the last paragraph: new age music is whatever is put in the new age bin in the record stores!!

Elsewhere in the Wikipedia article they state that three alternative labels for this kind of music have been proposed: contemporary instrumental; adult contemporary; and contemporary adult instrumental. I guess I like "contemporary instrumental" the best of these terms, but it does have the pesky problem of some new age music including vocals (e.g., Enya).

Thanks very much to both of you for taking the time to answer my question, it's much appreciated. I am now far more enlightened than a few hours ago although to a degree your replies serve to confirm my own guesses at a satisfactory definition. It seems I wasn't too far off the mark in my earlier comments.Thanks againDavid

I'm a big fan of electronic music and ambient, but not so much new age.I have no idea about 'new age pianists'.Can only recommend some minimal piano ambient: Brian Eno & Harold Budd - Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror

In my opinion 'New Age' means 'An Art Form of Music, late 20th Century, composed of that which is neither Jazz nor Classical, though perhaps as a best alternative 'Soul Music' A bit like a simplified Keith Jarret composition.

I can believe that the pianist gets a great deal of emotional thrill playing it.

One matter that is never discussed is, that what ever we say to give our opinion on music, we have no means of knowing what the next person hears in their brain. We can only express the effect that music has to others in general terms but nothing definitive. Hows that for a topic?

Originally posted by swingal: One matter that is never discussed is, that what ever we say to give our opinion on music, we have no means of knowing what the next person hears in their brain. We can only express the effect that music has to others in general terms but nothing definitive. Hows that for a topic?

swingal [/b]

Worthy of a thread of its own, swingal! To complicate matters even more, what an individual hears will change across repeated listenings of the same piece. My experience of a favorite piece of music will be different the first time I hear it than it is the 100th time.